“The Flea” – By John Donne

John Donne the master of metaphysical written by a poem “The Flea” The Flea poet uses to biological image of this poem in the order to idea with the theme of love. This poem is a plea from a man to a woman for her to sleep with him. Donne uses the flea as a vessel that has mixed their blood and thus a reason having sex with him is no longer sinful.

The poem is divided into three parts which are the processes of the whole poem. The flea that sucked their blood, the death of the flea, and the turning thought of the author. The speaker is using a flea as a means of convincing his lover to sleep with him. There is no setting provided, the speaker and his lover are alone. This whole theme to this poem is about sexual desire. The speaker points out a flea to a woman that he desire. She rejects him and he points out that the blood of each of them is already “mingling” inside of the flea.

Analysis of the Poem:

Mark but this flea, and mark in this,

How little that which thou deniest me is;

It sucked me first, and now sucks thee,

And in this flea our two bloods mingled be;

Thou know’st that this cannot be said

A sin, nor shame, nor loss of maidenhead,

Yet this enjoys before it woo,

And pampered swells with one blood made of two,

And this, alas, is more than we would do.

The speaker points out the flea and tries to relate it to something very trivial, but the woman thinks of it as a big deal. He points out that their blood is now mixing together inside the flea. The speaker tries to relate sex to their blood mixing saying that it is not a sin nor is it shameful. He then complains that the flea gets to do more than they do.

Oh stay, three lives in one flea spare,

Where we almost, nay more than married are.

This flea is you and I, and this

Our mariage bed, and marriage temple is;

Though parents grudge, and you, w'are met,

And cloistered in these living walls of jet.

Though use make you apt to kill me,

Let not to that, self-murder added be,

And sacrilege, three sins in killing three.

When the woman tries to kill the flea, the man says that it represents their marriage. He    argues that the flea contains three lives; his hers, and the flea’s. in lines 14 and 15, is says that the woman’s parents do not if she kills the flea, she is committing murder, suicide, and is disrespecting her faith.

Cruel and sudden, hast thou since

Purpled thy nail, in blood of innocence?

Wherein could this flea guilty be,

Except in that drop which it sucked from thee?

Yet thou triumph’st, and say'st that thou

Find’st not thy self, nor me the weaker now;

’Tis true; then learn how false, fears be:

Just so much honor, when thou yield’st to me,

Will waste, as this flea’s death took life from thee.

The woman kills the flea, but the only thing that happens is she gets blood on her fingernail. The man claims that the flea is innocent and the only harm done is that it took a single drop of blood. The woman man’s argument. The man agrees that his argument has fallen apart. The speaker then says that his whole argument was a way of proving that having sex with him would not be as disastrous and shameful as she thinks.

The poem ends before the woman responds to the speaker, we are left wondering if she will succumb to him or deny him and remain chaste.